Can-body-making machine



v 1,642,169 Sept. 13, 1927- J. F. PETERS CAN BODY MAKING MACHINE Filed Nov. 10, 1922 6 Sheets-Sheet 1,

P 1927' J. F. PE'i'ERS CAN BODY MAKING MACHINE 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 10. 1922 1,642,169 P 13, 1927- J. F. PETERS CAN BODY MAKING MACHINE Filed Nov. 10. 1922 6 Sheets-Sheet 3 Sept 1927' J. F. PETERS CAN BODY MAKING MACHINE Filed Nov. 10, 1922 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 M QNN Q ,q RPETERs CAN 50:51! MAKING MACHINE Filed ,NOV. 10, 1922 Q 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 1,642,169 p 1927' J. F. PETERS CAN BODY MAKING MACHINE Filed Nov. 10. 1922 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Patented Sept. 13, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN F. PETERS, OF ROCHESTER. NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN CAN COM- PANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

CAN-BODY-MAKING MACHINE.

Application filed November 10, 1922. Serial No. 599,992.

This invention relates to machines for making can bodies and is shown as embodied in a structure similar. in many respects, to that disclosed in my co-pending application. Serial No. 599,991 filed Nov. 10. 1922. The instant invention has more specific reference to a novel construction and arrangement of the forming horn in amachine of this character which permits the body blanks to be arranged on the inside thereof and to be confined and held during the formative operations by an outside jacket. 01' shell.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a. horn construction of the foregoing character in conjunction with the efficient, full automatic feeding and bending mechanism, as shown in my copending application above referred to, though it will be manifest that the invention is readily adaptable to use in machines of varying construction and is not confined to this particular form of apparatus.

Other objects and advantages of the invent-ion will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a can body making machine embodying my present invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged partial vertical section. taken transversely of the machine substantially on the line 3-3 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken substantially on the line 44 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a similar section taken substantially on the line 5-5 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged view, partially in section and partially in elevation taken transversely of the machine substantially on the line 66 in Fig. 1 and Fig. 7 is an end elevation of the mechanism for forming the side seam. being taken substantially on the line 77 in Fig. 1.

\ The. machine illustrated includes a frame 11 upon which is mounted a bed 12 providing a support for the operating mechanism, and an arbor 13 extends upwardly from the frame near one end thereof. Brackets 14 are secured to'the upper end of the arbor 13 .and provide bearings for a main drive shaft 15 which carries tight and loose pulleys 16. Said shaft 15 carries also a pinion 17, which meshes with a gear 18 on a'second transverse shaft 19, which has bearings 21 and 22 on the arbor 13, and also a bearing 23 in an extension 24 of said arbor.

4 Upon the shaft 19 is mounted a bevel gear25. meshing with a corresponding gear 26 carried at the upper end of a Vertical" shaft 27 which has bearings 28 and 29 at the side of the machine. Said shaft 27 carries at its lower end a second bevel gear 31, which meshes with a corresponding gear 32 on a transverse shaft 33 mounted in the frame beneath the bed 12. Said shaft'33 carries also a sprocket 34 which drives a chain 35 extending over a sprocket 36 on a transverse operating shaft 37 having bearings in the bed 12.

The blanks are fed from a stack 38, being successively removed therefrom by means of a sucker 39 provided on an arm 41 secured to a rock shaft 42 mounted in bearings 43 and 44 at the rear of side brackets 45. Said shaft 42 is rocked by means of an arm 46 connected by a rod 47 with an eccentric strap 48 on the shaft 37. At the moment thesucker comes in contact with the lowermost blank, suction is created by means of a pump 49 which has a piston 51 operated from an eccentric 52 on said shaft 37 said pump being connected by an exhaust tube 53 with the sucker 39. The blanks are thus positioned upon feed bars 54, which are provided with dogs and caused to reciprocate to advance the sheets by mechanism operatedfrom the shaft 37, but not shown in detail since it is not essential to an understanding of the present invention. It need merely be noted that the blanks are stopped in their 1 course of travel to be notched by notching dies 55, carried inaframes 56 and operated Irom a short, transverse shaft 57, which is reciprocated by means. of an arm 58 and a rod 59 which is connected with an eccentric 61 on the shaft'19.

The notched blanks are'then delivered to a transverse feeding slide 62, which is oper ated from the-shaft 37 by mechanism not shown in detail. to deliver. the sheets successively to feed and bending rolls 63 and '64. These rolls are driven by a driving connection 65 from a motor 66 and serve to direct the blanks sidewise and peripherally into the forming horn to be hereinafter described.

Attention is now directed to Fig. 3, which shows in detail the construction of a formin place by a bolt 72 and a set bolt 73 ex-.

tending through an upward extension 74 of the support 69. It will be noted that the support 69 is also vertically adjustable by means of an adjusting bolt 75. The member 68 co-operates with the rolls 63 and 64 to bend the blank, which is thereby directed into the horn.

In accordance with my I construct the forming horn 67 with an outer shell 76 against the inner surface'of which the blank is arranged, as shown in Fig. 3, and an inner structure generally indicated by: the reference character 77. Said inner structure is formed, in the present instance, with a main body part 78, which is cut away at the sides to provide a guideway for feeding bars, or slides. 79, the latter being held in place; by a plate 81 secured to the body 78 by screws 82 and havin projections 80 engaging in recesses 80 in the bars 79. Holding plates 83 are secured to 'the body 78 near the bottom thereof by screws 84 and their upper ends serve also to retain the bars 79 in .place. A'cylindrical guide '90 is secured to flanges 90' on the plate 81 and serves to complete generall cylindrical form of the inner structure. ard' ened members 85 and 86 are secured to the body 78 at opposite sides of the roll 63, the

member 86 being formed as a stop for the: blank. It will beunderstood that the fore-- going description of the horn applies to that section thereof at the bending station.

Two pairs of wings, 87 and 88, are provided at the bending station, being mounted on a longitudinal rod or shaft 89 having bearings at one end in a bracket 91 extending up from the bed 12 and at the other end in an extension of the arbor 13. These wings serve to yielidingly--support the shell 76, being held together by means of a spring 92 secured at one end to a pin 93 on the wing 88 and at the o posite end to a pin 94 on the wing 87. e bearing for the wing 88 is positioned between bearings 95 for the wing 87, thus providing a shoulder 96 holdpresent invention,

\ arranged for a The construction of the horn intermediate I the station just described and the next, or hook forming station, is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. It will be noted. from Fig 4, that the feed bars 79 and top feed bars 103, which are provided in this section of the horn, are. reciprocated by means of a lever 104 which is connected with a pin 105, which latter is, in turn, connected by means of end studs 106 and an arm 107 with the feed bars 79 and 103. The lever '104 is reciprocated, by

shown in Fig. 4 are held in closed relation-' shi by means of clamping rods, or pins,.117 an 118 extending through frame extensions 119 and 121, the pin 118 being provided with a handle 122 for manual manipulation.

The next operation performed upon 'the body blanks is the formation of hooks in the 'edges thereof to be'interengaged in a side seam, and the mechanism for performing ,this operation is illustrated in Flg. 6. The @horn at this station is formed with the outside shell 76, which is here cut awayat its edges, and an inner structure comprising upper and lower halves 123 and.124, which .are held together by means of'a screw-bolt blocks 126 and 127, the blanks being clamped against these blocksby means of side clamps ".128 and 129, which are also provided with hardened blocks 131 and 132 corresponding to the blocks 126 and 127, but oppositely urpose which will hereinafter a pear. pivote to the bed at 133 and 134, respectively, and are operated at desired intervals e clamps,128 and 129 are" by means of a yoke 135, which is adjustably connected with said clamps by rods 136 pivoted at 137 to links 138, which in. turn are pivoted at 139 to an arm 141, which connects with. levers 142 pivoted at 143 on the frame and connected at their opposite ends to the clamps 128 and 129. The yoke is actuated by a cam 144 upon a bell-cranklever 145 which is pivoted to the frame at 146 and reciprocated tween the clamps .128 and 129 and is proy an eccentric on the shaft 19. A hook forming member is mounted bevided with cams 148 and 149 which are so shaped that, upon rotation of said member in clockwise direction the edges are given a reliminary bend and upon the immediately ollowing counter-clockwise movement, are

brought to final form against the blocks 126 and 132, as illustrated in Fig. 6. Said hook former 147 is rotated, through connections not shown in detail, by means of a cam 151, shown generally in Fig. 2, said cam being carried on a short shaft 152 carrying a station, whereupon said edges become interengaged and are bumped by a hammer 158, which is carried on a thrust rod 159 and actuated by an eccentric 161 on the cross shaft 33. The sides of the blank are successively clamped against the horn by clamps 162 and 163, which are carried by plungers 164 and 165, these latter being actuated by arms 166 and 167 on shafts 166 and 167 which are rotated by arms and links generally indicated by the reference characters 168 and 169, connecting with rods 171 and 172 which are acted upon by cams 173 and 174 carried upon the shaft 33.

After the edges of the blanks are interengaged and prior to the action of the hammer 158, the horn is expanded, by mechanism generally identified by the character 175 and a top clamp 176 is employed to assist in holding the blanks tightly upon the horn.

After leaving this station, the bodies pass over an extension 177 of the horn and are acted upon by fluxing rolls 178 and thereafter by soldering rolls generally indicated by the character 179, said soldering rolls being driven by a sprocket chain 181 which is in turn driven by a sprocket 182 on a short shaft 183 carrying a bevel gear 184-meshing with a corres onding gear on a shaft 185, this latter sha being rotated from the shaft 15 by a sprocket chain 186 and a sprocket wheel 187.

A manually controllable clutch mechamsm 188 is provided on the shaft 19, being controlled by a hand lever 189 and a connecting rod 191, this clutch serving to connect and disconnect. the shaft 19 from the power.

The novel construction of the forming,

horn, as provided by the present invention, may or may not-be preferred to the construction shown in my co-pending application, but is believed tobe distinctly new and, from certain aspects, an important im provement' in the art. The blanks, which are bent and held as they move past successive operating stations against the practically continuous outer shell of the horn, are formed into can bodies of even surface formation with the edges accurately seamed and inequalities, which might result in irregular and malformed bodies, are effectually prevented.

It is thought that the invention and lnany of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be. apparentthat various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts, without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention, or sacrificing all of its material advantages, the form hereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. A machine for making can bodies, comprising a forming horn having an outer shell, means for passing body blanks sidewise relative to the horn and around the inner structure having means for advancing the blanks past successive operating stations along said horn, means for pressing the blanks against the outer shell, and blankfeeding means for introducing blanks sidewise relative to and into said shell.

3. In a machine for making can bodies, a forming horn, comprising an outer cylindrical shell adapted to have the blanks arranged and held in contact with the inner surface thereof, said Shell having a lon itudinal bottom opening through which t e blanks are introduced in a peripheral direction relative to said outer cylindrical portion, and means for advancing the blanks in predetermined order along "said horn to permit successive operations thereon.

4. In a machine for making can bodies, a forming horn, comprising an outer cylinder adapted to have the blanks arranged against the inner surface thereof and having a bottom opening for the peripheral introduction of the blanks, and an inner body sufficiently spaced from said cylinder to permit passage of a blank therebetween, said cylinder serving to hold the blanks in desired cylindrical form as they are advanced along the horn, and means operating towards the side of said cylinder for introducing the blanks laterally thereinto.

5. In a machine for making can bodies, a

forming horn, comprising an outer cylinder the inner surface thereof and having a bot- I tom opening for the peripheral introduction of the blanks, and an inner body sufficiently spaced from said cylinder to permit passage of a blank therebetween, said cylinder assisting in the bending of said blanks and serving to hold the-blanks in desired cylindrical form as they are advanced alon the horn, and' means operating towards t e side of said cylinder for introducing the blanks laterally thereinto.

6. A machine for making can bodies, comprising a support for the blanks, means for feeding said blanks along said support,'an outside forming horn having a bottom opening for the peripheral introduction of the blanks, and means for bending the blanks and arranging them interiorly' of said horn preparatory to the formative action thereon;

7. A machine for making can bodies, comprising an outside forming'horn'havin a bottom opening for the peripheral intro uction of the blanks, and means fora-arranging the blanks against the inner surface of said horn preparatory to theformative operations thereon.

8. A machine for making can bodies, comprising, in combination, a forming horn, means .for arranging-body blanks in horizontal position adjacent the bottom of said horn, feed rolls mounted beneath the horn and operable to direct the blanks 'nto a pass in said horn, said horn being formed with an outer jacket, or she1l,'against which the blanks are bent and guided past successive operating stations.

JOHN F. PETERS. 

